Campaigning Forum 2024

Campaigning Forum 2024 Oxford

March 19-21

Meet and learn with top and upcoming campaigners

Key information

Who: Campaigners, fundraisers, media officers, volunteer managers, digital experts, managers, etc.
Where: St Anne’s College, Oxford, United Kingdowm
Capacity: 100
Cost: £550 until Feb 18, then £650 + optionals (£80/115 per night on-site accommodation, £50/dinner)

Testimonials

“The Campaigning Forum is the most useful event in my calendar. If you’re interested in learning from passionate, informed, dedicated people, then you shouldn’t miss it!”

Jean O’Brien
Digital Charity Labs & Digital Consultant

Testimonials

It has made my everyday job easier. I have a place to go to for ideas, advice, and experience.

Andrew Khan-Gordon

Testimonials

This is a great gathering of campaigners that gives you a very comprehensive idea of emerging trends, as well as common problems and possible solutions. It’s a very interesting event that is also very effective for networking.

Anastasia Kavada
University of Westminster

The Campaigning Forum is different: participants set the agenda

At the Campaigning Forum, you set your agenda and we help you find others who share it. Speakers and workshops are there to provoke thought. Result: you learn more and connect with more people. This is the way events should be.

Undecided? This might help…

Persuade your boss to send you

Making the case for joining the Campaigning Forum event by Anya Pearson (Contentious)
How I (and my staff) benefited from the Campaigning Forum event by Alison Goldsworthy (Which?)
The best piece of advice I ever ignored by Rachel Collinson
How to make the most of Campaigning Forum events by Duane Raymond

Questions? Get in touch

How do we ensure it is a safe event?

Immune vulnerable & Covid safety policy
Code of conduct: a safe inclusive event
Privacy: photos, confidentiality, online
Terms: cancellation, substitutes, etc.
Physical disability: venue, accommodation, etc.
Visual / hearing disability: let us know and we will instruct presenters on how to increase accessibility
Mental health: we will allocate quiet rooms to retreat to and in 2024 there is a coach with mental health training

The Agenda

At the 2024 event, there will be a dedicated slot for presentations and open space sessions about having a campaigning impact, specifically:

Allyship and inclusion of underrepresented and marginalised communities
Countering disinformation and fake news
Deepening and building political engagement amongst supporters
Effective digital transformation strategies
Campaigning before, during and after elections

Tue March 19
Oxford

Arrival: Campaigning Forum 2024

until 18:00
Conference Office (Ruth Deech Building)

Free sessions with the coach are available if organised in advance. Take the opportunity for private, confidential conversations about anything you need.

18:00-19:30
Lower Common Room

‘ECF Participation’ briefing

Meet others, propose agenda topics, learn how open space works, get settled for two days of great learning.

Open to all and it prepares you to be a confident, engaged participant from day one.

19:00-20:30
Dining Hall

Dinner: Kick-start connections and conversations with Campaigning Forum participants

21:00+
St Anne’s Bar

Connect to kick-start connections and conversations

Wed. 20 March, Oxford

Day One: Campaigning Forum 2024

08:30
Foyer B (Ruth Deech Building)

Registration, coffee/tea, informal discussions

09:00
Outreach Room (New Library)

Welcome, introduction and agenda review

09:15
Foyer B (Ruth Deech Building)

Warm-up activities and speed networking

09:45
Foyer B (Ruth Deech Building)

Open Space introduction and agenda setting

10:15
various rooms TBC

Open Space knowledge exchange A

Set at the event by participants:

Diversity and inclusion: creating community allies
What campaign or initiative am I proud to be part of (and want you to know all about)
Shifting gear: Amending campaign plans halfway through a campaign
Value of getting celebrity / politician endorsements

Examples from 2023 event include:

Election strategies and election agenda
Campaign tactics for impact
Is Just Stop Oil et. al. helpful or counterproductive?

11:15
Foyer B (Ruth Deech Building)

Coffee/tea break

11:45
Outreach Room (New Library)

Featured speaker:

Why community power matters, regardless of the political weather

Benali Hamdache (Head of Campaigns & Organising, Save the Children + Green Party Councillor)

As the General Election looms larger more and more charities will be preparing for a change of government. There will be a strong temptation to return to old tactics. Insider influencing. Personal relationships. Policy launches in the Westminster bubble.

Benali will talk about why we shouldn’t be downing tools that work. That investment in people power should never be out of fashion. That regardless the next government will face huge challenges and very few causes will not face at least some hurdles. Innovative campaigning and movement building will be key to getting your interventions over the line.

Benali is Head of Campaigns and Organising at Save the Children. He’s worked in campaigns for a decade, across a range of political and charitable causes. He worked on the official Remain campaign and the Green Party’s campaign for Mayor of London and the London Assembly – the most successful in the party’s history. He’s an advocate for community organising and building power locally – particularly as an elected Councillor in Islington.

Examples from past events include:

2023: A personal journey, practical steps to how we’re re-building the agency to shift power (Alex Kent and Kate Muhwezi, co-CEO of Restless Development)

12:30
Dining Hall

Lunch

13:30
various rooms TBC

Peer workshops / presentations

Outreach room: Facing down disinformation: A success story in local elections – Aleksandra Meshkova (Greenpeace Bulgaria). See presentation details
Seminar Room 10: Digital transformation for nonprofits: What it is, what are the benefits and how can they be understood better by our sector – Brani Milosevic (LinkedIn). See workshop details
Seminar Room 11: SCN – Mobilising Community Power through Fiscal Hosting, Saoirse Barry (Social Change Next)

Past peer workshops/presentations

Podcasting workshop: Exploring how we at the Transnationals Institute (TNI) put together our podcast, share experiences and brainstorm other ways to make a podcast successful. (Denis Burke, Transnationals Institute)
Graphic design secrets (Jean O’Brien, Digital Charity Labs)

14:30

Open Space knowledge exchange B

Based on participant contributions:

What matters in an election: are people voting on issues or do issues move voters?
Are awareness campaigns relevent in the 21st century?
Media relations: getting media coverage and working with journalists effectively
How to set-up your own grassroots campaign / campaigning group or organisations
Stopping shrinking civic space

Examples from 2023 event include:

Going beyond petitions to convert leads into supporters
Disinformation: how to tackle it and communicate in a polarised society
Artificial Intelligence

15:30
Foyer B (Ruth Deech Building)

Coffee/tea break

16:00

Open Space knowledge exchange C

Based on participant contributions:

Disinformation
Tackling internal politics to support campaigning
Why do we use tactics that don’t work?
What can NGOs expect to acheive during an election campaign?

Examples from 2023 event include:

Creating positive, solution-oriented campaigns in a world of crisis fatigue
How to measure success when trying to reach people’s hearts and minds?

17:00
Outreach Room (Ruth Deech Building)

Ignite talks (7 min each)

How we at ShareAction have used AGM activism – Isabella Salkeld, Kelly Shields, Jeanne Martin (ShareAction)
Campaigning at the time of social media reactions – Paolo Gerbaudo (Complutense University Madrid)
Forming a trade union within your workplace – Conor McGurran (Trades Union Congress)
Multi camera livestreaming for covering protests and marches – Zoe Broughton
Humor and Social Change – Brian Fitzgerald (Dancing Fox)
See what it takes to deliver an ignite-style talk.

Examples from 2023 event include:

The Peat-za box: ‘It’s pizza, but not as we know it’ which is an engagement tool to get people interested in peatlands! (Sara Booth-Card, Wildlife Trusts)
The Rooftop News: a news site which aims to platform positive news stories, to amplify maligned voices and offer an alternative to the constantly negative mainstream news cycle (Lizzie Lewis, Campaign Collective)
How to get rid of your website’s consent banner (Juri Maier, wegewerk)
UK Online Safety Bill, and the implications of its proposals for campaigners (Pam Cowburn, Open Rights Group)

18:00
Seminar Room 8 (Ruth Deech Building)

Teachin: Video Workshop

Led by Zoe Broughton, an experienced videographerwhohas 25+ years experience using video to cover protests and capturing social justice issues.

For those coming to the video teach in you will be filming on your phones!
Beforehand if possible make sure your phone is charged, has some space to record on to and please bring your phone headphones (you can use the mic on this to get good audio on your interviews!) Also download the free app CAPCUT for editing in your phone!

You’ll also be given an exercise to go and get vox pops, asking delegates to state why they are coming to the event, what is important for them here, what’s been best so far, how is this different to other conference etc.

19:30
Dining Hall

Dinner

21:00+
St Anne’s Bar

Social

Thu. Mar 21, Oxford